China warns Donald Trump it will limit Chinese students studying in the US

A Chinese national daily warned on Sunday that the sales of Apple iPhone and other American products will take a hit in the country if president-elect Donald Trump imposes high rate of import tariffs on Chinese products.

Calling Trump “naïve,” Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times said that the Chinese government would target the products of Apple and other American companies which are high in demand in the country.

“China will take a tit-for-tat approach then,” the Global Times said in the editorial. “A batch of Boeing orders will be replaced by Airbus. U.S. auto and iPhone sales in China will suffer a setback, and U.S. soybean and maize imports will be halted. China can also limit the number of Chinese students studying in the U.S.”

A strong critic of China, Trump had said during his campaigns that he would consider imposing a 45 percent import tariff on Chinese products once he became the president. Calling the Chinese government the world’s biggest thief, Trump said that he would label the government as a “currency manipulator” when he becomes President.

Calling the plan a “merely campaign rhetoric,” the newspaper hoped that Trump might not go ahead with the policies as the President did not have the power to impose a high tariff. According to US law, the president can impose only a maximum tariff of 15 percent for a maximum of 150 days on all imports.

Though Global Times did not specify whether the Chinese government would take strict action that could affect America, it said that there is nothing that could prevent the government from doing it if it was necessary.

China has already banned several American companies like Google, and Facebook. In 2009, China had retaliated by imposing tariffs on U.S. car parts and chicken in a tit-for-tat reply to America for 35 percent tariffs imposed on Chinese tires.

“Both China and the U.S. suffered losses as a result. From then on, the Obama administration waged no trade war against China. If Trump imposes a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports, China-U.S. trade will be paralyzed,” the Global Times said.

“The new president will be condemned for his recklessness, ignorance, and incompetence and bear all the consequences. We are very suspicious the trade war scenario is a trap set up by some American media to trip up the new president,” the Global Times wrote.

China sends the maximum number of students after India, to the US. A sharp decrease in foreign enrollment would force severe financial constraints on many universities in the US.

China warns Donald Trump it will limit Chinese students studying in the US was last modified: November 14th, 2016 by Sreekanth A Nair